
Louvre Museum
The world's most visited museum holds around 35,000 works on display, from the Venus de Milo to the Mona Lisa. It is a former royal palace and the building is part of the experience.
See tours & tipsGuided museum visits, art and history tours, shows and performances – the experiences that reward some research before you go.

The world's most visited museum holds around 35,000 works on display, from the Venus de Milo to the Mona Lisa. It is a former royal palace and the building is part of the experience.
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An underground network of former quarries holds the remains of around six million Parisians, moved here from overcrowded cemeteries in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Over 7 km of galleries lead to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. St Peter's Basilica is next door and free to enter, though the queue can be long.
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A walk or bike ride along the ancient Roman road, with underground catacombs and the tomb of Caecilia Metella.
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The King's London residence, with the State Rooms open in summer and the famous Changing of the Guard ceremony.
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A townhouse on Passeig de Gràcia that Gaudí remodelled in 1904–06, with a skeleton-like façade, an undulating tiled roof said to represent a dragon's back, and interiors where almost nothing is a straight line.
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A memorial of two reflecting pools on the site of the Twin Towers and a museum telling the story of the attacks.
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A guided visit to Harlem's history, soul food and a Sunday gospel service.
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The seat of Venetian power for centuries, a Gothic palace of grand council halls, golden staircases and enormous paintings, linked to the old prison by the Bridge of Sighs. Next door, St Mark's Basilica is covered in Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile (bell tower) has the best view over the roofs.
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A Byzantine basilica glittering with golden mosaics, in St Mark's Square.
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The canal house where Anne Frank and seven others hid from the Nazis for over two years, and where she wrote her diary. The rooms are left largely bare, which makes the visit quiet and affecting. It is one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands.
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The national museum of the Netherlands holds Rembrandt's The Night Watch, Vermeer's The Milkmaid and a collection of Golden Age painting that is hard to match. The building, a neo-Gothic palace with gardens and a cycling tunnel beneath it, is a destination itself.
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The world's largest collection of Van Gogh's work, about 200 paintings, hundreds of drawings and his letters, arranged in chronological order so you can follow his development from dark early work to the bright colours of Arles.
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One of the world's greatest collections of Renaissance painting, including Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, works by Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, and a long corridor of classical sculpture.
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Michelangelo's David stands at the end of a long hall lined with his unfinished 'Prisoners'. The gallery is small, so the visit is short – about an hour is enough.
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A sixth-century cathedral, later a mosque, then a museum, and a mosque again since 2020. Its vast dome is one of the great achievements of Byzantine architecture.
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The Ottoman sultans' palace for almost four centuries, with courtyards, the Harem, the imperial treasury and views over the Bosphorus.
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A traditional hammam experience with steam, scrub and a foam massage in a historic bathhouse.
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UNESCO-listed monuments from the Age of Discovery, a short tram ride from the centre. The Jerónimos Monastery is a masterpiece of Manueline architecture.
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A grand Manueline monastery in Belém, plus the original custard tart bakery nearby.
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A modern museum with a glass floor over an excavation, displaying sculptures and friezes from the Acropolis in rooms designed to mirror the Parthenon.
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The marketplace and civic heart of ancient Athens, with the best-preserved Temple of Hephaestus and a museum.
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The largest ancient castle complex in the world, including St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace and the Golden Lane.
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A historic district with six synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery and the Jewish Museum.
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The USS Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum, on the site of the 1941 attack. The memorial is a short boat ride from the visitor centre.
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The last surviving wonder of the ancient world, built over 4,500 years ago, with the Great Pyramid, two others and the Sphinx.
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A large modern museum beside the pyramids with the Tutankhamun collection and thousands of other artefacts.
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A cobalt-blue garden created by the painter Jacques Majorelle and restored by Yves Saint Laurent, with cacti, bamboo and a small Berber museum.
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A traditional Moroccan bath with steam, black soap scrub and massage, in a historic bathhouse or modern spa.
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The former royal residence, with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and nearby Wat Pho, which holds the huge Reclining Buddha.
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The Temple of the Reclining Buddha and the Temple of Dawn, on opposite banks of the Chao Phraya River.
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The island where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years, now a museum and World Heritage Site, with tours led by former political prisoners.
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A clifftop sea temple above the Indian Ocean with a sunset kecak fire dance, performed by a large chorus.
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The UNESCO-listed performing arts centre designed by Jørn Utzon, with its sail-like roof on the harbour at Bennelong Point.
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A Mayan site in the jungle with a tall pyramid you could climb on certain days, best explored by bike.
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One of the world's great art museums, with the best collection of Spanish painting: Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings and Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights.
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The official residence of the Spanish royal family, though used only for state occasions. With over 3,000 rooms it is one of the largest palaces in Europe, with frescoed ceilings and a throne room.
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The summer residence of the Habsburgs, with 1,441 rooms, formal gardens and a hilltop Gloriette with views over the city.
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A baroque palace complex that holds the world's largest collection of Gustav Klimt's paintings, including The Kiss.
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The imperial palace of the Habsburgs, with the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum about Empress Elisabeth and the silver collection.
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A neo-Gothic landmark on the Danube, completed in 1904, with a grand staircase, the Holy Crown of Hungary and a 96-metre dome.
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The German parliament building with a glass dome you can walk up for free, and the Brandenburg Gate nearby, the symbol of the city.
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A UNESCO World Heritage cluster of five museums on an island in the Spree, including the Neues Museum with the bust of Nefertiti.
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A fortress that has dominated the skyline for nine centuries, holding the Scottish Crown Jewels, the Stone of Destiny and the One O'Clock Gun.
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The King's official residence in Scotland, at the end of the Royal Mile, with historic apartments and abbey ruins.
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A Minoan Bronze Age town buried by a volcanic eruption around 1600 BC and preserved under ash, with multi-storey buildings and wall paintings.
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A behind-the-scenes tour of a working film studio in Burbank, with sets, soundstages and a museum of film history.
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A hilltop art museum designed by Richard Meier, with European paintings, gardens and some of the best views over Los Angeles.
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The former federal prison on an island in San Francisco Bay, reached by ferry, with an excellent audio tour narrated by former guards and inmates.
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The 1960s counterculture district, with vintage shops, murals and the adjoining Golden Gate Park.
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A Zen temple whose top two floors are covered in gold leaf, reflected in a pond and surrounded by gardens.
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The historic geisha district, with wooden machiya houses and tea houses, best explored in the early evening with a guide who knows the etiquette.
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A traditional tea ceremony in a machiya house, with matcha and sweets.
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A wooden temple on a hillside with a famous veranda and views over the city.
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A shogun's castle with 'nightingale floors' that squeak to warn of intruders, and fine painted screens.
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A chance to dress in a kimono and stroll through Gion and Higashiyama.
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One of the largest mosques in the world, with 82 white marble domes, a hand-knotted carpet and the world's biggest chandeliers.
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A museum under a lattice dome that creates a 'rain of light', displaying art and artefacts from across human history in a sequence of galleries.
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The presidential palace, open to visitors, with a vast central dome, a throne hall and a library of manuscripts.
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A striking building on its own island on the Corniche, holding one of the world's best collections of Islamic art, with a free park and views over the skyline.
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A museum shaped like a desert rose, designed by Jean Nouvel, telling the story of Qatar from its geological origins to the present.
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A cultural complex with an amphitheatre, galleries, mosques and a beach.
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The 17th-century Mughal palace-fort in Old Delhi, built of red sandstone and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. India's Independence Day address is given from its ramparts.
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A garden tomb of the second Mughal emperor, a forerunner of the Taj Mahal, set in formal gardens and restored in recent years.
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A 73-metre minaret from the 12th century, surrounded by one of the oldest mosque complexes in India and the famous Iron Pillar.
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A vast modern temple complex of carved stone, with exhibitions and an evening water show.
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The white marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most recognisable buildings in the world.
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A red sandstone fortress on the Yamuna, the main residence of the Mughal emperors, with palaces, mosques and a view of the Taj in the distance.
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Often called the Baby Taj, a delicate tomb on the riverbank with intricate marble inlay work that foreshadows the Taj Mahal.
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A hilltop fort of red sandstone and marble above Maota Lake, with courtyards, mirrored halls and long views over the surrounding hills.
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The royal residence in the heart of the old city, part of which is still used by the family, with museums, courtyards and decorated gates.
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The Palace of Winds, a five-storey honeycomb façade with 953 small windows built so royal women could watch street life unseen.
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An 18th-century astronomical observatory with huge stone instruments, still accurate, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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A basalt arch on the waterfront, built in 1924 to commemorate a royal visit, and the main starting point for harbour boats.
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A behind-the-scenes day at a film studio or set, with a look at filmmaking and, on some tours, a chance to be an extra.
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A UNESCO site of 16th and 17th-century churches, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which holds the relics of St Francis Xavier.
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A 45-metre white marble Buddha on a hilltop with views over the island, near the island's most important temple, Wat Chalong.
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A golden hilltop temple above the city, reached by 300 steps or a cable car, with views over Chiang Mai.
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A hilltop temple reached by a climb of about 1,200 steps, with a large Buddha statue and wide views over Krabi.
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A huge temple built entirely of carved wood, still under construction, showing Buddhist and Hindu themes.
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The vast imperial palace of the Ming and Qing emperors, with halls, courtyards and gardens covering 72 hectares.
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A 15th-century complex where emperors prayed for good harvests, set in a park where locals do tai chi and play cards each morning.
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The Qing dynasty's lakeside imperial garden, with the Long Corridor, Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.
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A working Tibetan Buddhist temple with incense, prayer halls and a giant wooden Buddha.
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A former factory district turned into galleries, cafés and studios.
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A classical Ming-era garden with ponds, rockeries and pavilions, next to a busy bazaar of old-style buildings.
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A working Buddhist temple with two jade Buddha statues brought from Burma.
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Thousands of life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots buried to guard the first emperor of China, discovered in 1974 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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A seven-storey Tang-dynasty pagoda built to store Buddhist scriptures, with a fountain and light show nearby.
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A hot-spring palace of the Tang emperors at the foot of Mount Li, often combined with the Terracotta Army.
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The world's largest Buddhist temple, a ninth-century stepped monument with hundreds of carved panels and stupas, surrounded by volcanic hills.
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A ninth-century Hindu temple complex with tall carved towers, dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.
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The living palace of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, with pavilions, museums and traditional performances.
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A hands-on class in the traditional wax-resist dyeing technique, with a piece to take home.
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A traditional village of thatched houses showing the culture of Lombok's Sasak people.
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The largest ancient religious site in the world, with its forest of giant columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall, obelisks and sacred lake.
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The rock-cut tombs of pharaohs, including Tutankhamun's, with painted walls that are astonishingly well preserved.
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A terraced mortuary temple built into the cliffs for Egypt's female pharaoh, one of the most striking sites in Egypt.
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A temple in the heart of the city, beautifully lit at night, linked to Karnak by the Avenue of Sphinxes.
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A pre-dawn climb to the summit for sunrise, followed by a visit to St Catherine's Monastery, an ancient UNESCO site.
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A traditional Vietnamese art form where puppets dance on water to live music, a short and charming show.
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A museum in a French colonial prison, plus the nearby Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university.
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A network of underground tunnels used during the Vietnam War, with a chance to crawl through a section.
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A museum of photographs and military hardware covering the Vietnam War, a powerful and sometimes distressing visit.
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The 1960s palace where the war ended, with preserved rooms and a rooftop, near the Notre-Dame Cathedral and old post office.
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A Hindu shrine in limestone caves, reached by 272 colourful steps beside a huge golden statue.
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The largest of Seoul's royal palaces, built in 1395, with a changing of the guard ceremony and two museums.
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The largest religious monument in the world, a 12th-century temple that appears on Cambodia's flag, best seen at sunrise.
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The walled city of Angkor Thom and the Bayon temple, famous for its enormous smiling stone faces.
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A temple wrapped in giant tree roots, left partly as found and used as a film location.
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A grand mosque with a huge Persian carpet and chandelier, open to non-Muslim visitors in the morning.
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A walk through the 1.2 km Siq canyon to the Treasury, Petra's most famous façade.
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A smaller Nabataean site with carved facades and fewer visitors, just north of Petra.
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A colourful, onion-domed church built where Tsar Alexander II was fatally wounded, with mosaics covering almost every inside surface.
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A temple-like hall built in the 1890s with exquisite carvings, ceramics and plaster sculptures.
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A large Buddhist temple founded in 328 AD, set among rock carvings and forested hills.
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A reconstructed 16th-century castle with a museum inside the keep and a moat and parkland around it.
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A park and museum commemorating the victims of the atomic bombing, with the A-Bomb Dome nearby.
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The ruins of a building that stood near the hypocentre, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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A reconstructed castle with a museum inside, surrounded by a moat and park.
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A park through the city centre, hosting the Snow Festival's giant sculptures in winter and beer gardens in summer.
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A museum in the original brewery building about Japan's oldest beer brand, with a tasting room.
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A district of large murals and galleries painted by artists from around the world.
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A guided tour of the seat of the US Congress, including the Rotunda and Statuary Hall.
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A visit to the home of the US President, with views from Lafayette Square and the visitor centre.
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A cemetery with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the changing of the guard ceremony.
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A tour of mansions, gardens and above-ground tombs at Lafayette Cemetery.
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A guided walk through Harvard Yard and Cambridge, led by students and covering the university's history.
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A museum of Dale Chihuly's colourful glass sculptures, with an outdoor garden under the Space Needle.
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A large cultural park with Spanish-style architecture, gardens and more than a dozen museums.
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A Gothic Revival basilica with an extraordinary blue and gold interior.
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A grand hotel overlooking the St. Lawrence River and the city's best-known landmark.
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A 9th-century illuminated manuscript and the grand Long Room library at Trinity College.
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A former prison associated with Irish independence, with guided tours.
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A medieval cathedral beside a Victorian hilltop cemetery with city views.
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A museum on the Albert Dock with a walk through the band's history, a recreated Cavern Club and memorabilia.
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A well-preserved Roman bathing complex fed by Britain's only hot springs, with an audio guide and museum.
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A medieval abbey with fan-vaulted ceilings and a tower tour with views over the city.
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A Roman city buried by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and preserved under ash, with streets, villas and frescoes.
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Leonardo da Vinci's mural in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
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A neo-Gothic bookshop often called one of the most beautiful in the world.
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A royal palace with Mudéjar courtyards, tiled halls and lush gardens.
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The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, with Columbus's tomb and a climb up the Giralda tower.
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A walking tour of filming locations used for King's Landing.
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A royal castle and cathedral on a hill above the Vistula, with state rooms and treasury.
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A memorial and museum at the former Nazi camps, about 90 minutes from Krakow.
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A museum about Krakow under Nazi occupation, in the former enamel factory.
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A memorial at the former concentration camp near Munich.
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The blue house in Coyoacán where the painter lived, with her art and belongings.
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A cemetery of ornate mausoleums, including the tomb of Eva Perón.
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The former home of the Out of Africa author, set in gardens.
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One of the largest mosques in the world, with a 210-metre minaret and a retractable roof.
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